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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Garden of Stones

Book: Garden of Stones by Sophie Littlefiel
Pages: 320
Finished: February 2013
Publish Date: February 26, 2013
I received this galley from Harlequin MIRA

First off, I just want to say that while this was a difficult book to read due to subject matter, that same subject matter was written about in a very respectful manner. The book is set in two time periods, 1978 Los Angeles and 1940's Manzanar Japanese Internment Camp. The WWII sections of the book revolve around 15 year old Lucy and her beautiful Mother--the horror of being rounded up, getting rid of most of their possessions, the horrible travel accommodations. and the equally horrific conditions they are forced to endure as prisoners. This is truly a shameful episode in American history.
The 1978 sections of the book revolve around a grown up Lucy and her daughter Patty--
I really don't want to say much more as I don't want to spoil the story line nor the very surprising ending.

I very much enjoyed this book and highly recommend it!

From Amazon:
"In the dark days of war, a mother makes the ultimate sacrifice

Lucy Takeda is just fourteen years old, living in Los Angeles, when the bombs rain down on Pearl Harbor. Within weeks, she and her mother, Miyako, are ripped from their home, rounded up—along with thousands of other innocent Japanese-Americans—and taken to the Manzanar prison camp.

Buffeted by blistering heat and choking dust, Lucy and Miyako must endure the harsh living conditions of the camp. Corruption and abuse creep into every corner of Manzanar, eventually ensnaring beautiful, vulnerable Miyako. Ruined and unwilling to surrender her daughter to the same fate, Miyako soon breaks. Her final act of desperation will stay with Lucy forever…and spur her to sins of her own.

Bestselling author Sophie Littlefield weaves a powerful tale of stolen innocence and survival that echoes through generations, reverberating between mothers and daughters. It is a moving chronicle of injustice, triumph and the unspeakable acts we commit in the name of love."

5 comments:

This sounds like a really interesting book Kim and I'm going to see if I can get it in my library. It seems most nations all have some part of their history to be ashamed about, lets hope lessons have been learned.

I would probably cry my way through this one. But I think that we should face our country's past whether it be some of the biggest achievements in human history or some of the most horrible atrocities people are capable of. You always read such interesting books : )

Hi Kim! Finally, made it to your "other" blog...I think I went to the Grandkids one and thought you weren't blogging anymore....BTQ...those 2 are the cutest!!!! Oh my but they are darling!This book looks great and have you ever seen the movie on Hallmark called The Magic of Ordinary Days? It's one of my favorite movies for the time period, decorating, setting and it encompasses a bit of the internment camps and their occupants. It was just on last night too! Thanks for stopping by my blog and I'm so sorry you missed the bunnies! But she has patterns too. I bet those little grand daughters would love a bunny or 2! LOL! Although, Alicia warned that they really aren't for play as there might be little items they could swallow or get in trouble with...not sure what but you know one can never be too careful around little ones. Going over to YOP now. Hope to see you over there! TTYL!